Beware of politics, horses and birthdays

My goodness, the rumors of a commissioner's wrongdoings are beginning to surface every time the subject comes up, usually by somebody wanting to remain unknown and have me write about their concern. This time, it is trouble with the IRS. One way to stay out of trouble and the rumor mill is to do your job and quit trying to be a power broker without the resources to do so.

There is a shod single horse running about lately. It would appear someone claiming to be a horse lover turned him out. No matter what someone says, a horse is a big animal and should be treated as a such. Pets, not so much.

I have been reading a bit lately and they are by the newer authors. The plots are good, but the characters really need improving. In every one, there is a woman or man, possibly both, who are carrying a load of guilt for things for which they are not responsible. To make things worse, these same people apparently cannot tell the truth, forgive, forget and or recognize reality for what it is. I guess this might be reflection of our society of today, for it seems it is fashionable to be guilt-ridden. You cannot go back in time and change whatever took place, so the best thing to do is go forward and make an effort to mitigate the effects of your actions.

I was pleased to see Kay Winters cutting Nevada's 150th birthday cake and socializing like any 20-year-old last week. This lady might have been around for a while, but you would never know it from her active schedule. I first met Kay when the Boss and I were the co-chairs of the Stagecoach bicentennial committee a couple of years ago. Kay, at that time, was the person in charge of Lyon County bicentennial committees and did a fine job of it. I had met her husband several years before that but that was just talking about the weather and such. I suppose Kay's positive outlook on life is keeping her young, a model for younger people to follow.

Understanding the brotherhood of firemen is very hard to do when you have never been in the service, volunteer or paid. The Boss and I attended the pinning ceremony for four firemen from Lyon County and three firemen from Carson City. There is something about going through all the rites of initiation that begins to bind each fireman to the other whether they like each other or not. There, they are taught to always watch their brothers' six and through the years they learn why they call each other their brother. I watched a person attending who obviously did not comprehend what the ceremony was all about. He was having a hard time understanding what all the fuss was about and I felt sorry for his lack of understanding, as I doubt he will ever understand. American service men go through the same process from boot camp forward. Some might not adjust, but they are few.

I count myself very lucky to have served in the U.S. Coast Guard for eight years and 14 years as a volunteer fireman/EMT 11. To me, ceremonial tradition is and always will be a part of my ties to friends I will never forget. We served the public with no questions asked or rewards sought, and it makes me proud to be counted among those that did the same.

I have a thought or two regarding the District 38 assembly seat. I know this is a going to be a bit of a battle between who went before and one of the candidates. It might not be well-known, but there is no love lost between those two. I have not met one of the two candidates, but it will be interesting to see what connections will come to light when the campaign heats up.

I have heard some grumbling about the new section of four lanes in Stagecoach regarding how limited the access is. As a reluctant appointee of the former chairman of the Stagecoach town board to head up a committee to form a future development plan for the area I can tell you NDOT followed the resultant recommendations of that committee very nearly as presented and adopted by the then town board for the design of the highway.

This committee was made up of a very divergent group of people with some very intense conversations before reaching agreement on the recommendations to the board. The intent of the committee was to have a high-speed throughway with limited access but with paved side roads to reach the accesses. The intent was to reduce accidents caused by numbers of vehicles accessing the main throughway at many points. The fact is the speed limit remains at 65 mph and in the stretch of the new four lanes accidents have been rare, and we will not have a situation in the future that exists in Mound House today.

How about the decision of the district judge in Reno to reduce the sentence of an admitted sexual offender from years to a few months? I really do not know how this supposed dispenser of justice can live with himself. The little girl will have to live with her memories and her attacker will soon be free to continue his life with no regrets at all. Who knows what the offender has done in the past and what he will do in the future, but one thing for sure: That judge must have some pretty weird thinking processes himself.

Charles Lawson is a native Nevadan, retired contractor/project manager and long time Lyon County resident who is involved in Lyon County. To communicate with Charles, e-mail him at cel@ableweb.net.